27 April 2021, Nur-Sultan – Today the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has officially handed over 5 specialized ambulance vehicles to the National Coordination Center for Emergency Medicine of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan at no charge.

The ambulances are instrumented with all needed medical equipment, including defibrillators, a complete heart rate monitoring system, a portable ventilator, pulse oximeters and oxygen cylinders.

During the official handover ceremony Vice Minister of Healthcare of Kazakhstan, Azhar Giniyat, emphasized that the Government is implementing all necessary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, aimed at protecting the lives and health of the population of the country. “We are taking action to ensure the availability and improve the quality of medical care in Kazakhstan. UNDP, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and healthcare organizations joined efforts to organize the provision of humanitarian assistance to support the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the fight against the pandemic. On behalf of the Ministry of Healthcare and my behalf, I would like to express my gratitude for the provided assistance, which demonstrates solidarity in international efforts to counter the pandemic’’, she said.

“Enhancing the quality of healthcare services is one of the key priorities of the new UNDP Country Programme for 2021-2025. With the onset of the pandemic, UNDP has been providing operational support to the Government of Kazakhstan to help mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19. As part of the COVID-19 response, UNDP has been leading the UN’s work on socioeconomic response, including through assessing the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable groups of the population. In August 2020, UNDP donated an autoclave for safe medical waste disposal to the Nur-Sultan City Centre of Phthisiopulmonology”, said Vitalie Vremis, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kazakhstan. 

The ambulances were delivered based on the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. “Kazakhstan highly appreciates this support, as well as other measures of UNDP’s COVID-19 response in Kazakhstan. Today's event is a clear example of the successful cooperation between Kazakhstan and the UN, the 30th anniversary of which we will celebrate next year”, said Didar Temenov, Director of the Department of Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.

The ambulances will be part of the motor pool of the National Coordination Center for Emergency Medicine in Nur-Sultan and its Representative Office in Almaty. According to Nurlan Akhilbekov, Chair of the Board of the National Coordination Center for Emergency Medicine, the mission of the Center is to provide emergency medical care to the population under the conditions of a large territory and remoteness of healthcare institutions in Kazakhstan. 

“Annually the Center provides around 3000 - 4000 medical services to the population, including transportation of critical patients, carried out by specialized ambulance vehicles. Renewal of the Center motor pool will help improve the quality of medical services, enhance safety and comfort levels during transportation. We are very thankful to UNDP and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the provided support”, he said.

Since 2017, UNDP has supported the Ministry of Healthcare of Kazakhstan with procurement of medicines for treatments of socially significant diseases, like hepatitis C and cancer.

Globally, UNDP has already supported 88 countries in the procurement of personal protective equipment and medical supplies for more than USD 80 million.